Road wheel seal substitutes

[rob love]

I am at the stage now where I have sandblasted and painted my roadwheels and am starting to repack the bearings. The little cork seals that are supposed to seal the wheels have shrunk over the years, and really aren't an effective sealing solution in the first place. Ever notice how on a hot day your carrier seems to leak melted grease onto your shiny, sandblasted suspension?
Anyway, to make a long story short, I am using a normal seal in place of the cork; Chicago rawhide seal pn 19832. Seems like this is going to work. It does require that the outer spacers on the roadwheels be polished up a bit.
The spacers are a somewhat loose fit on the shaft, and I am hoping that the seal will hold it fairly centered while everything is being tightened.

I am also happy to report that National still makes the origional carrier/cmp rear wheel seal. The part # is 5751. It is a leather type seal, and is by no means cheap at a list price of $67.15, or trade price of $53.72. I tried crossing over to a CR seal, but their current production for this application does not include the oil slinger, and is even more expensive.